Education is central to the University of San Diego's mission, and our commitment to education travels beyond campus borders. Bridges Academy is a lecture series which aims to quite literally “bridge” the gap between the retired community of San Diego and USD through educational opportunities. A sense of community is such an integral part of education here at USD, and the Bridges Academy is designed to foster relationships with those outside the campus and raise awareness of university events.

We invite you to join our lecture series and experience the wonder and growth education provides. These exciting and valuable lectures are given by leading professors, alumni and students and take place on USD’s picturesque campus.

While the lecture series is free to all participants, the Office of Planned Giving encourages growth of the Bridges Academy Endowed Scholarship Fund. We are pleased to announce that in the spring of 2005, this fund achieved the minimum amount of $50,000 and became an “endowed fund”. It now awards two scholarships each year. Recipients each year are one fine arts student and one general education student. Our goal is to continue to grow this fund to help ensure that students from a variety of backgrounds will be able to enjoy a quality education here at USD. We sincerely thank all of you for your support and interest and look forward to seeing you on campus!

If you would like to make a gift to the Bridges Endowed Scholarship, please send a check (payable to the University of San Diego, subject line: Bridges Academy) to:

If you are interested in learning about additional educational opportunities available to the retired community, please visit the University of The Third Age website.

The University of the Third Age (U3A) is a program fostering life-long learning for those 55 years and older. U3A is a three-week program providing interesting speakers and workshops, and is offered by the Division of Continuing Education at USD, in January and July of each year.